For DIY’ers ColorBond Saves Money While Getting Excellent Results

We find those changing the color of their vehicle interior, or correcting cosmetic flaws, are most concerned about expense and whether the results will look great and last. Having a professional do the job usually produces a great result, but often at significant cost. Many realize doing the job themselves would be far less expensive, however, are not confident that it will turn out well.

ColorBond Paint provides an option that lets the vehicle owner recolor their interior themselves, at a cost far lower than having it done by a professional, and while achieving excellent results. ColorBond is a revolutionary molecular bonding paint that penetrates deep into plastic, vinyl and leather. Allowing the user to easily restore or change the color of leather, carpet, plastics or metal with fantastic results.

Consider the cost of having a professional refinish or reupholster an auto interior. Using a 2013 Honda Civic Si as an example we determined the following. For an auto upholstery shop to replace a driver’s leather seat cover, the parts and labor is typically about $950 for an OE cover, and about $550 for an aftermarket cover. For a professional to refinish the seat with interior paint the cost is about $250. Yet, for a Do-It-Yourself vehicle owner to refinish the seat using ColorBond LVP Refinisher in aerosol can form, it would require approximately 1 to 2 cans, with the retail cost being $16.49 to $32.98. Now consider the extended costs when 4 seats are reupholstered or refinished… But, what about the quality and durability of the ColorBond result? To get answers we spoke with Carlos Medrano, and Lilith Garcia, who restyled their own interiors using car interior paint. This was their first experience applying it, as well as their first time using ColorBond Paint. You may have heard of Lilith and Carlos here before – Carlos won the 2016 ColorBond CLeo Award and is hoping the current restyle of his 2013 Honda Civic Si show car will win him the 2018 award. Lilith’s beautiful show car, a 2014 VW Jetta, has been covered here previously and will be a feature vehicle at the 2018 SEMA Show.

Carlos’ 2013 Honda Civic Si interior after he painted with ColorBond. He is once again restyling his interior using ColorBond.

Lilith Garcia’s refinished the interior of this 2014 Jetta herself using ColorBond. It turned out great!

When asked what her concerns were before repainting her interior, Lilith explained “We decided we were going to do it ourselves. No matter how it turned out, we were going to shoot for it. Though, I was concerned if it was going to stick – if it would it adhere. I was especially wondering how it would bond in sharp folds and creases. It turned out the paint really grabbed in those creases. It is really stuck on. Also, it won’t scratch.” When asked the same question, Carlos said “I was concerned about whether the paint would hold up from the abuse, and if it would get scratched. In the car, I carry everything I need for car shows, including trophies. I was worried these things would scratch up the interior. But the paint didn’t scratch. It’s held up amazingly well. I never thought it would hold up this good.”

When asked what they did for preparation before painting, Lilith said “Using ColorBond made it so much easier. We just had to mask the door panels with tape for overspray, we didn’t have to remove the panels. For preparation we cleaned off the plastic and then let it dry for a day. I used ColorBond Adhesion Promoter #215 before spraying on the ColorBond LVP Refinisher. The paint was easy to apply evenly and dried in 45 seconds. Because the parts I was spraying were black, it made the Burgundy colored ColorBond appear a little dark with just one coat. So, I applied 2-3 coats and it lightened to just the color I wanted.” Carlos said “Preparation was very simple for us. We cleaned the panels with soap and water. We used ColorBond’s Adhesion Promoter on the dash and some panels. Then sprayed on the LVP Refinisher.

When asked about project expense, Lilith said “We had replaced the seats and were going to have the armrests reupholstered to match, which was going to be pricey. Leather was $44.50 per yard and between that and upholstery shop labor (including dismantling the doors) the cost was going to be $500. I decided to use ColorBond Paint, and the armrests came out great. So, I kept going and did the door panel inserts, arm rests, shift knob trim, stereo/ventilation system control panel, center storage compartment, and all protective plastics covers that fit in the cup holders and door recesses. An upholstery shop would have charged thousands to refinish these parts.” Five cans of LVP Refinisher were used to paint these components – a total of $82.45. Add to that $15.95 for a can of Adhesion Promoter (recommended) and the grand total comes to only $98.60 for an incredible transformation!

Carlos was also happy about reduced expenses using ColorBond. “We had pulled 100% of the interior out of the Civic. The only thing left was the handbrake. This was an extensive restyle and everything was going to be professionally wrapped in vinyl – the seats, dash, door panels, hard-plastic trim, and the trunk. As well we were going to replace the carpet and floormats with vinyl. The original estimate from an upholstery shop came to $8,000. That was way too much money. So, we decided to just upholster parts of the console, rear seats, trunk, as well as replace the carpet and floor mats with vinyl. That reduced the price at the upholsterer to about $4,500, which saved us about $3,500. The rest of the interior I painted with ColorBond. I covered a lot of area and went through 30 cans of paint, which is about $495. Originally, I thought I would paint about 30% of the interior. Instead I painted about 85% of it. So, instead of upholstering the panels for $3,500, I painted them for $495!”

ColorBond Paint allows Do-It-Yourself vehicle owners to easily and confidently restyle or restore their interiors at a fraction of the price charged by upholstery shops. We thank Lilith Garcia, and Carlos Medrano for discussing their experience painting their car interiors. We wish Carlos good luck with winning the 2018 ColorBond CLeo Award, and Lilith a success full display of her vehicle at the 2018 SEMA Show.

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See ColorBond at the 2018 SEMA Show! The company will be located in booth 24181 in the Main Hall.